Chapter 50: The Paladins of the Arcane Union

"Jonathan!"

Will and the others shouted in unison. Eleven, no longer able to protect the two, thrust her hands downward, unleashing a torrent of psychic energy that swept aside the piled storage cabinets, revealing Lin Xiao beneath.

Joey, clutching her staff, wore a look of absolute confidence. With so many storage cabinets pressing down—at least a dozen tons, by her estimation—not even an elephant could survive being crushed under such weight, let alone a person.

“Damn it, how underhanded can you be? Possessing my mother so I can’t fight back—truly worthy of being the source of all evil. Is it really all right to be this despicable?”

Lin Xiao crawled up from the floor, dusted himself off, let out a long breath, and looked at Joey as he spoke.

The three—Eleven, Will, and Chief Hopper—were overjoyed. Jonathan was unharmed, even after being crushed by such incredible weight. His body really had been transformed by magical power into something astonishing—almost superheroic.

The evil possessing Joey’s body also revealed surprise. A deep, unfamiliar woman’s voice issued from her lips:

“So, you’re an extraordinary human. Are you a mage of the Magic Council, or a member of the Templar Order?”

“Magic Council? Templar Order?”

Will and Chief Hopper gaped. They had always been skeptical about Jonathan’s explanations—magic, mages, and the like were simply too fantastical to fully accept. Yet hearing those words from Joey’s mouth suddenly made it all seem plausible—Jonathan hadn’t lied, after all. The Magic Council and Templar Order were real; surely Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry must exist too.

If they were bewildered, Lin Xiao was even more so. Damn, he had just made up those organizations off the top of his head—how could his wild guess be so spot-on?

Magic Council? Templar Order? Just the names sounded grand and otherworldly, straight out of a fantasy world. Was this even Earth, he wondered.

“Uh, let’s put your question aside for now. I want to ask—who are you, and what have you done to my mother?”

Lin Xiao countered instead of answering, hoping to glean from her response a way to save Joey. If he couldn’t, he had no idea what to do next.

“Who am I? You’re not worthy of knowing my name. I was once a supreme witch of the Witches’ Covenant, a subordinate order of the Magic Council. Unwilling to succumb to death’s embrace, I secretly delved into forbidden sorcery.

The old fools discovered my actions and came in force to disrupt me. Outnumbered, they sealed me here—and now, over two centuries have passed.

Your mother’s body has been completely merged with mine. I am your mother, and your mother is me. Come now, call me Mommy, my good son.”

Joey burst into maniacal laughter, waving the budding staff wildly and spinning in place, as if dancing with excitement.

Lin Xiao couldn’t help but laugh—this “source of evil” was rather ridiculous. Fine, then; he’d simply drag her out and beat her until even her own mother wouldn’t recognize her.

He put away his Star-Destroying Battle Axe, instead using his hand as an axe. Activating his Charge Slash skill, he lunged at Joey, intending to subdue her first—he couldn’t let her attack at will. Being crushed by all those storage cabinets had been no joke.

Joey swung her budding staff again, but a surge of psychic force intercepted her attack. She looked up to see Eleven with hands outstretched, immediately understanding the situation.

She tried to turn and attack Eleven, but Lin Xiao was already upon her. His right arm cleaved sideways like an axe, striking Joey’s staff-wielding hand. A crisp sound of dislocated bones followed—the budding staff slipped from her grasp and fell to the floor.

“Jonathan, go easy!” Will called out loudly. After all, that was still their mother—even if she was possessed.

Lin Xiao didn’t answer. At this moment, Joey was no longer their mother, but a being possessed by evil. With the budding staff in her hands, any carelessness could mean their deaths. Subduing her was the only option.

Joey roared in pain; dark energy swirled around her, and the dislocated bones instantly healed. She lashed out with a kick aimed at Lin Xiao’s groin.

But with his extraordinary constitution, Lin Xiao was lightning fast. He sidestepped her attack, circled half a turn behind her, hooked her ankle with his foot, and sent her crashing to the ground.

As Joey tried to rise, Lin Xiao pounced, flipped her over, pinned her face down, pressed his hands firmly on her back, and gripped her arms, holding her immobile.

“Jonathan, be gentle!” Will shouted again, running down the stairs, with Eleven and Chief Hopper close behind.

The three hurried down to see Joey struggling desperately, her legs kicking wildly, but Lin Xiao held her steady as a mountain, pinning her arms so she couldn’t break free.

“What do we do? How can we save Joey?” Will was close to tears. He was just a child, and seeing his mother like this was breaking his heart.

“Jonathan, what now? You once saved Will; surely you can save Joey too, can’t you?”

Chief Hopper added anxiously. Seeing Joey in such agony pained him deeply, but he had no means to help.

“This is my first time dealing with something like this,” Lin Xiao said, helpless. “It’s different from what happened with Will, and without a teacher’s guidance, I really don’t know what to do.”

“How about this: let’s take turns calling out to Joey, see if we can awaken her consciousness and help her expel the evil from her body. Will, you try first.”

It was a desperate suggestion, but Will nodded and stepped forward, calling softly into Joey’s ear:

“Mom, it’s me, Will. Don’t you remember me? When I was hiding from the Demon King in the Upside Down, you kept in touch, encouraging me to hold on. That’s how I survived, waiting for everyone to come save me.”

Will was sobbing. Eleven wiped her tears as well and hugged Joey, whispering,

“You’re not my real mother, but you always treated me as your daughter. You never ignored me because I was a stranger, never kept your distance because of my powers, never scolded me for my odd temper. We may not be mother and daughter, but I still want to call you Mom. Please wake up—don’t be lost anymore.”

The two of them held Joey. Her violent struggles gradually subsided, and Lin Xiao could clearly see tears streaming from her eyes. Joey’s consciousness was slowly returning.

“Joey, I love you. I’ve never loved you more than I do in this moment. I know we’ve missed so much, and not being there for you when you needed me most is my greatest regret in this life. I hope to spend the rest of my days making it up to you—staying by your side, growing old together.”

Lin Xiao was astonished; he never expected rough-edged Chief Hopper to speak such tender words.

Joey’s agitation faded away. She turned to look at Chief Hopper, her eyes full of warmth. She had waited half a lifetime to hear those words.

Lin Xiao, unable to match such sentimentality, simply raised both hands. With one, he summoned Holy Light; with the other, Purification. The twin beams shone down on Joey.

His magical power drained rapidly as a fierce holy light enveloped her. Wisps of black smoke—the evil force occupying her body—streamed out and scattered.

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